Meet Rosemarie and Harry from The Last Post in Follow Your Star Home

Meet Rosemarie and Harry from The Last Post in Follow Your Star Home2018-11-152018-11-04http://eecarter.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/EEC-brand-header600W.pngElizabeth Ellen Carterhttp://eecarter.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/choc_l.jpg200px200px

So to have a little bit of fun, I’ve asked my follow Belles to show of their fantasy film casting skills and share a little more about their story.

My next guest is Caroline Warfield.

Tell us the name of the story and a little background about the hero and the heroine you’ve created for Follow Your Star Home.

The Last Post takes place in 1919. My hero is ready to go home and take the woman he fell in love with during the war with him—if only he can find her.

Harry Wheatly grew up in Saskatchewan, the only son of a lawyer and his wife in a quiet household but spending summers on has maternal grand parents farm. He was in university when the call to arms —and disappointment in love—drove him to enlist. The horror of trench warfare quickly killed the thrill of glory and drove him nearly to despair. He had run out of hope and metaphors for brown before he found his Rosemarie in 1916. She and her son became his beacon of hope until the troops finally pushed into Belgium and then were withdrawn to Wales after the armistice.

Rosemarie Jacques married young and lived to regret it. When her husband died in the war leaving her with only one treasure, a tiny boy, she trudged on alone. Harry surprised her with joy she never expected to experience again. The war, however, came all the way to the gates of Amiens forcing her to flee. She sent Harry a letter telling him where to find her, but she never heard back. Now the war is over and she still hasn’t heard from him. She fears he has forgotten.

If you could cast any actor and actress into the role of your hero and heroine (it could be current stars or Golden Years of Hollywood legends), who would you pick?

Eddie Redmayne has played a wide range of parts. I believe he has the strength to show Harry’s courage while still showing his intelligence and sensitivity.

The heroine was much harder. She has to be frail on the outside, but with a core of great strength. I’m thinking perhaps a young Isabelle Adjani or Juliette Binoche as she appeared in Chocolat.

What does this Season mean for your hero and heroine?

For both of them the holidays mean a longing for home. Harry dreams of his grandmother’s kitchen—the smell of cinnamon, and the laughter of family. If wants above all to be back there with Rosemarie at his side. Rosemarie loves the crèche and services at the great cathedral, both signs of love and family to her.

Short excerpt from The Last Post

Rosemarie is startled by a knock on her cottage door.

Who on earth would come out here? Who knows I’m here? She put an ear to the door warily, but jumped back shocked when the doorknob moved. She took a step further back as the door slowly opened.

He stood bathed in the light of sunset, his eyes full of joy. “Rosemarie! Thank God. I was afraid some stranger—”

She cut off Harry’s words when she threw herself into his arms, stood on tiptoe, and covered his mouth with hers. His arms clamped around her, one hand slipped under her bottom, and he lifted her off the ground to deepen the kiss. When she pulled back to take a breath he let her slide to her feet but kept her in his arms. Still unable to speak, she ran her fingers over his face as if to verify he was her Harry. He kissed her fingers when they touched his lips.

“You’re here,” she breathed at last. “How?”

“I didn’t think you’d be here,” he said at the same time.

She pulled him in and shut the door, both of them talking at once. He hugged her again and kissed her thoroughly while her heart sang. Thank God, thank God, thank God.

When they moved to the rocker and he pulled her into his lap, they began to tell their separate stories of travel, confusion, and longing, with frequent interruptions for questions and repetition punctuated by kisses. Words gave way eventually, and kisses took their place.